UK Act of Parliament
1939
United Kingdom
House to House Collections Act 1939
At a glance
Enforced by
What's here
6 compliance obligations, 1 practical guide
Penalty landscape
4 of 6 obligations carry a criminal penalty. 1 carries different penalties and 1 has no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.
Who this Act binds
Plus 1 non-business duty on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.
Relevant guidance
Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.
Supporting — topic alignment
1 guidesWhat this Act requires
Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.
Charitable collections from house to house to be licensed.
- Promote or collect for a charitable house-to-house collection without a licence
Licences.
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Licensing authority must grant or refuse collection licences and give written reasons Local authority
Regulations.
- Breach of house-to-house collection regulations
Unauthorised use of badges, &c.
- Use unauthorised charity collection badge or certificate
Collector to give name, &c. to police on demand.
- Fail to give name and address to police when collecting for charity
Penalties.
6 months imprisonment- Provide false information for house-to-house collection purposes
Browse 6 other sections — procedural / definitional / commencement
Official guidance
Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.
- Society lotteries (Gambling Commission) (opens in a new tab) Detailed Guidance
- House to house charitable collections licence (Northern Ireland) (opens in a new tab) Detailed Guidance
- House to house collection licence (England and Wales) (opens in a new tab) Detailed Guidance
- Street collection licence (England and Wales) (opens in a new tab) Detailed Guidance
- Follow the Code of Fundraising Practice and your trustee duties (opens in a new tab) Detailed Guidance
- CCNI fundraising guidance (opens in a new tab) Detailed Guidance
- Public charitable collection permit (Scotland) (opens in a new tab) Detailed Guidance
- Register a charity with OSCR (opens in a new tab) Detailed Guidance
- Register a charity with the Charity Commission (opens in a new tab) Detailed Guidance
Enforcement and responsible bodies
The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.
Local Authority (Environmental Health / Licensing / Planning)
Local councils enforce food safety (via Environmental Health Officers), issue alcohol licences, grant planning permission, and regulate certain business activities at local …
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Browse legislation
Find other UK business legislation with related guidance.
Regulators
Learn more about the bodies that enforce this legislation.